The Pokémon Whisperer
by muuffiin
Summary: Rodrigo was scared to have a Pokémon again. OC. Rest of the explanation inside.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is the first time I publish in , it's actually the first FF I write. It was written for a friend (Rodrigo) as a birthday present and I know NOTHING about the Pokémon world, so I apologize in advance for anything that might seem off during the fic. Happy eighteenth Rodrigo ILYSM3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon Universe or anything like that (Not even Rodrigo ;) ), and the lyrics of the song are "The Drumming Song" by Florence + The Machine.**

**Chapter One.**

His hands grazed the sides of the grass, so tall it reached his shoulders. He looked out beyond it, standing at the edge of the field near his house that led nowhere, and he thought. He hadn't been out in these fields for years, too afraid to go inside once more. He remembered the first time he'd wandered out there and found his Pokémon, a cute Eevee he'd called JayJay. He closed his eyes and tried not to remember JayJay's death because even though JayJay, at the time a Piloswine, had died over four years ago; his death still panged deep in Rodrigo's heart. But it was time to move on, Rodrigo knew that, JayJay would have wanted that; so he took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and stepped into the tall grass once more.

He moved slowly, not wanting to attract anything's attention while he got his bearings. Truth be told, he was scared mindless about doing this once more, about slowly walking through the grass until he found one and caught it, about how dangerous it was; something he could appreciate now that he wasn't a small ten year-old who only thought about having adventures. Pokéball clutched in his sweaty hands, he sung to himself lightly in an effort to calm himself down.

"I can do this, I've done it before. No need to be such a pussy. Come on Rodrigo, this isn't scary." He didn't dare do more than whisper to himself as his eyes darted around, anxious to see anything that might pop out at him suddenly. He started to sing one of his favorite songs in an effort to calm himself down. "There's a drumming noise inside my head; that starts when you're around."

The grass to his right seemed to rustle suddenly and he froze, the next few lyrics of the song stuck in his throat. His heart pounding and his head spinning, he reached out to separate the strands of long and sticky grass so he could see what was hiding behind it.

"I. Swear. That. You. Could. Hear. It." Slowly, pushed on by his song and his efforts to prove to himself that he could get over a broken heart, he put one foot in front of the other. Left. Right. Left. He heard the rustling again, louder this time, and stopped breathing. "It makes such an all mighty sound!" His voice reached decibels only little girls' should be able to reach as he ran forward with his arm stretched out and the empty Pokéball still clutched between his fingers.

He stopped dead when he saw a small Riolu standing in front of him and Rodrigo could barely breathe in his excitement. It looked scared, as if his singing (screaming) had woken it up from a very comfortable and peaceful slumber and it'd been jolted back to reality in the most horrible way. Which now that Rodrigo thought about it, being woken up to a screaming boy running through your "home" would probably be an awful way of coming back to reality after a journey in dreamland.

"Hey, I'm sorry." He whispered, crouching low to look into the small Pokémon scared eyes. "I didn't mean to wake you up." He stretched his hand out slowly, not wanting to scare it even more. "I just want to be friends."

The Riolu's eyes turned wary as Rodrigo's hand approached it and was obviously a bit miffed it'd been woken up so abruptly and rudely when it turned its face away from his hand snottily. Rodrigo chuckled lightly at the Riolu's diva-ish attitude, thinking it matched his own perfectly and that if it were to give him a chance, they'd make a perfect pair.

"Come on sweetheart, let me apologize. I promise I will never wake you up this way _ever_ again. Deal?" He cocked his head and smiled in an effort to look friendly (and who was he kidding, adorable) so the Riolu would accept his offered friendship. He'd never tried being friends with a Pokémon before and was excited for the chance he was being given in the form of a ridiculously drowsy Riolu.

It seemed to realize that Rodrigo didn't mean any harm, or that he wasn't going anywhere and it turned around to look at him again. Its eyes were annoyed and it approached Rodrigo's hand slowly, as if trying to say 'well, you wanted to be my friend right? Now you wait'. It sniffed his hand from a distance, as if trying not to dirty itself with his germy being or something, and seemed to decide he was clean enough when it crawled closer and gave his hand a lick. Rodrigo's breath hitched and it was all he could do to keep from squealing his head off; he was pretty sure this was the Riolu's way of accepting his friendship.

He suddenly realized his Pokéball had slipped from his hand and was a few centimeters away from the Riolu itself, he didn't know if he wanted to use it anymore, even if he did want to take the Pokémon home with him. "Sweetie," he said to the Riolu currently petting itself with his outstretched hand, "would you like to come home with me?" His voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper. He was scared of being rejected by the aura-sensitive creature, and tried not to think of how much he'd cry once he got back home if it didn't like him. It wasn't until he felt something climbing onto his lap that he realized he'd scrunched his eyes closed in his fear of seeing the Riolu walk away.

It looked at him inquisitively, as if it didn't know what was wrong with him at all. He smiled at it softly as it studied him with its red eyes and was extremely surprised when it licked his cheek impulsively. "I'm taking that as a yes." He smiled and grabbed the Pokéball once more and showed it to the curious Pokémon now sitting in his lap. "You'll have to let me capture you, but I promise I'll let you out as much time as you want…" The Riolu didn't even blink as it slowly approached the Pokéball and nudged it open with its nose. A bright light blinded Rodrigo momentarily and a few seconds later, when he managed to blink away the spot of light that kept disrupting his vision, he noticed the Riolu was no longer sitting in his lap and that the Pokéball had suddenly become a lot heavier.

Now that the Pokémon had been captured and was Rodrigo's, he somehow knew that the Riolu didn't want to be disrupted from its nap and wanted to go wherever he wanted to go as long as it could stay asleep. He also knew that it was a girl, something that excited Rodrigo even more because he knew how rare female Riolu's were. "Cassie, your name will be Cassie." He crooned to his Pokéball as he petted it lightly, entranced with the beauty of what he held between his arms. "My Cassie." He stood up, slipped the Pokéball into his pants pocket, and ran home; excited to tell his mom what had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon Universe or anything like that (Not even Rodrigo ;) )**

**AN: This was written for a friend as a birthday present and I know NOTHING about the Pokémon world, so I apologize in advance for anything that might seem off during the fic. **

**Chapter Two.**

Panting and sweaty, Rodrigo burst into his kitchen and barely kept from falling on the slippery floor. "Mom! Mom!" He looked around, expecting to see her in the kitchen cooking, or maybe in the living room reading. "Mom! Where are you?" His heart, which was trying to beat out of his chest from the excitement and exertion, dropped a bit when he realized his mom wasn't anywhere to be seen. He was about to give up and go to his room when his parent's door opened and his mom, beautiful as ever, stepped out with a curious look on her face.

"What's up baby? What's wrong?" She looked ready to comfort him, as if she'd been expecting him to come back crying from his return to the Pokémon capturing world. Knowing it was probable that if he hadn't found that small Riolu willing to offer him a friendship he'd be crying right at that moment, he didn't find it in himself to be offended by his mother's assumption that something had gone wrong.

"Nothing's wrong! I caught one! AND A RIOLU MOM! Do you know what that means?" He stepped closer and grabbed his mother's hands; he looked into her now amused looking eyes with his own sparkling excitedly. She shook her head slowly, a smile forming on her lips because of the happiness her youngest son was now emanating. "It means I am a good Pokémon catcher mom! I am!"

She threw her arms around him and he clutched back tightly, his hands grasping her shoulders as he tried to smother himself in his mother's affection. She pushed back his hair and kissed his forehead softly, leaning back to look him in the eyes once more. "I'm glad sweetie, I really am. I never doubted your ability."

"Cassie and I will have an awesome time!"

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Rodrigo realized that maybe, being a diva while his Pokémon was a diva too was kind of… Hard. They fought about everything, about the fact that Cassie wanted to be bathed and primped every day even when no one except Rodrigo was going to see her, or the fact that she didn't eat anything BUT a very special plant only found in the field next to his house at least twenty minutes away from it. The thing they fought about the most though, was the fact that Cassie did **NOT** want to be a battle Pokémon, she'd much rather be just a pet Pokémon (or even better, a _model_ Pokémon) than be a fighter.

"Come on Cassie, stop! We _have to_ train, if we don't I'll always be that loser with the Pokémon that never wanted to be a real Pokémon!" It had been two weeks since he'd found her and brought her home, and he still hadn't been able to get her out of the house since he'd brought her inside for the first time.

He knew he had offended her when her red eyes turned into slits and he felt as if maybe, looks _could_ killand he should be more dangerous when he lived with a woman that didn't like being bossed around. He shifted awkwardly, trying to distract his very annoyed Riolu that was currently trying to kill him without moving from her tiny bed.

"Please?" He pouted, trying to get her to stop being so lazy and finally want to go out with him. "Don't force me to use the Pokéball." He tried to sound firm, menacing but he knew he'd failed when Cassie just rolled her eyes and turned away from him, lying back down to take another nap. "You're so lazy; you're probably going to be fat when you're older." That was enough to spring her into action.

Cassie and Rodrigo soon became an invincible team, beating beginners left and right and their experience and confidence grew disproportionally with each win, and leaving them with quite a big head by the time Cassie's evolution into a Lucario rolled up. It was a weird experience for them both, neither of them having experienced a Pokémon evolution before and therefore, leaving both of them terribly confused when a bright light appeared and suddenly Cassie's cute Riolu appearance was no more. It took a lot of comforting from Rodrigo's part to the extremely distraught Pokémon to convince her that she was still as lovely as ever, and even then, she continued to grumble about the loss of her cuteness; it wasn't until Rodrigo told her that now she was an incredibly sexy Pokémon that she calmed down enough to enjoy her transformation. And even though she was what one would consider a 'small' Lucario, she was as fierce as they came.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon Universe or anything like that (Not even Rodrigo ;) ) I ACTUALLY OWN THE OLD MAN NOW**

**AN: This was written for a friend as a birthday present and I know NOTHING about the Pokémon world, so I apologize in advance for anything that might seem off during the fic. **

**Chapter Three.**

Rodrigo's heart was pounding; his hands were sweating; his eyes unblinking as he tried to take it all in. They had made it to the finals! To the point where it didn't matter whether he won or he lost, he was one of the best all around, and everyone knew it just by looking at him and noticing the badge that he wore proudly, hanging around his neck and officially marking him as a competitor and differentiating him from the sea of people that swarmed around backstage in their effort to make this competition as smooth a show as possible. His nerves were eating at him and he was consciously struggling to keep his fingernails away from his teeth, even though he wanted to chomp at them. He couldn't believe he'd gotten this far. Only one more battle and he'd be... _The_ _Champion_ Pokémon trainer, around the _world_. He couldn't be more excited.

He patted Cassie's head as she snuggled up to his leg in an effort to get away from all the people. She'd always hated crowds. She jostled the rest of his Pokémon, the Roserade, Piplup, Piloswine, Glameow, and Glaceon currently resting inside his pocket for their next battle. He was pretty excited. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins; his emotions were all over the place; and suddenly, he was grateful the cameras weren't allowed to film them when they weren't in the arena, because he was pretty sure everyone would think it pathetic how excited he was and he didn't want to lose any of the magic brought to him by this experience.

"Can you believe it Cassie? Even if we don't win, everyone will know _I'm_ the second-best Pokémon trainer _around the world_. It's a pretty big deal, you know?"

Her red eyes stared at him in that way he was so used to being looked at by her, with affection and exasperation and amusement, all rolled up into one feeling and one look. It made him feel like Cassie thought of him as more than just the guy that kept her around and fed her and gave her a home, it made him feel like she actually cared about him as much as he cared about her; which was quite a lot. He loved her.

"Come on Cassie, everyone will know you're awesome too. The fame and glory doesn't just go to me, it goes to all you kiddies I love and take care of." He opened her arms for her to jump into, as she always did when she was too tired to keep walking or wanted a cuddle; she accepted quite easily and snuggled into his arms, her head resting in the crook of his neck. "Aw, come on sweetheart. Chin up. We'll be back home before you know it."

He heard his name being called over the PA system, and before he had time to react; he was being rushed by a small group of people over to the arena entrance, where he had to put Cassie down and into her Pokéball before walking out into the bright lights and screaming fans. He felt like he was going to throw up. He raised his arms in a salute when his name was called, and felt a rush of gratitude towards the people screaming his name with so much enthusiasm; they certainly helped calm down his nerves about not having any supporters and just being there as a fluke. He watched the Pokémon trainer in front of him pull out his first Pokéball with a smirk painted on his face and Rodrigo swallowed nervously and loudly. What if he made a fool of himself? His hand shook as he took out Cassie's Pokéball, the familiar metal comforting him and calming him down to the point that his voice didn't shake when he called out to her.

"Go Cassie!" He threw her Pokéball in. And nothing happened. His breath caught in his throat as he started panicking, what was wrong? His Pokéball was given back to him and he accepted it with a sheepish smile; hoping it had all just been a fluke and it hadn't been thrown in properly, after all, it was a pretty old Pokéball.

"Cassie! Go!" He threw it in once more, and when the flash of light did happen this time, he thought all his problems were over. He was wrong. Cassie was lying on the ground, unmoving, and it didn't seem like she was going to get up soon.

"Cassie? Cassie?" Rodrigo ran to her, stepping over the line that marked where the Pokémon trainer should stay and running to pick up his Lucario and hold it like a baby against his chest. "Help! Someone help! I don't know what's wrong with her! Help!"

The next few hours were a blur. All Rodrigo could see were faces, different ones that stared at him worriedly and obstructed his view of his lovely Cassie. Cassie. What on Earth could be wrong with her?

His tears flowed down his cheeks without anything to stop them; he hadn't even noticed he was crying. He couldn't deal with losing Cassie, not after JayJay. What was it about him that killed his Pokémon? Even though JayJay's death had been nothing like this, he could feel Cassie's power waning in the deepest parts of his soul, like he'd always been able to feel her presence. His head fell into his hands as he sobbed, and he felt himself being pushed into a chair as he waited for his Cassie to be brought back to him.

He heard a throat being cleared and opened his eyes to see a nervous looking nurse standing in front of him. She kept bouncing around and shifting her weight from leg to leg, biting her lip with an apprehensive look reigning over her features. He looked at her expressionlessly, unable to show emotion after being miserable for so long.

"Um… Sir?" He continued to look at her blankly, waiting for her to continue. "Well, you know we promise we'll always take care of everyone's Pokémons and we _always_ do our best to cure them and…" She trailed off, noticing the slight glare Rodrigo was sending her way. If she'd just **get to the point**. "We don't know what's wrong with Cassie, all her vitals are perfect and we can find nothing wrong with her. We're afraid we don't know how to treat her… And neither will anyone else… Maybe it's best if you just said goodbye now."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon Universe or anything like that (Not even Rodrigo ;) )**

**AN: This was written for a friend as a birthday present and I know NOTHING about the Pokémon world, so I apologize in advance for anything that might seem off during the fic. **

**Chapter Four.**

He was numb. He couldn't feel anything other than the pain in his heart; not even the freezing of his toes and fingers in the cold, winter rain; not even the bitter wind biting and tearing into the skin of his face; not even the way he was soaked to the bone and would probably get sick if he stood out there for one more second. Cassie was going to die. No one could help her. Why? Why him? Why was it that he could never take care of anything? He was sure he'd done it right this time. What had he done wrong? Lost in thought, he didn't notice the hand that wrapped around his wrist and pulled him into a warm house and pushed him into a chair in front of a fireplace until a small crash startled him and made him take notice of his surroundings.

He was in a small room, with white walls and wooden floors just barely covered by a rug that had been thrown in the middle of it. Two red high-backed armchairs decorated the room as well and through a small archway without a door, he could see an old man grumbling as he picked up the things that had fallen and caused the crash that had pulled him back to the real world. The old man looked up just in time to see him staring, and he offered Rodrigo a toothy smile before going back to picking up the things. It didn't occur to Rodrigo's frozen brain and body to go and offer his help until the man had finished and was well into another activity.

"Well laddy, fancy some tea?" The man's gruff voice penetrated through the fog surrounding Rodrigo's mind, and he found himself nodding without his consent. "Good, eh? I always find that a spot o'tea makes things better." Rodrigo couldn't place his accent, but was at least grateful that he could understand it when the man rushed forward with a slight limp and pushed a warm cup of tea between his frozen fingers.

"Thank you." He whispered, finding his voice at the last second. It sounded rough, like the voice of someone who had spent the past few hours crying and he cursed the fact that his voice gave him away so quickly. He couldn't stop looking at the man, who now had a smoking pipe between his lips and was looking at him intently, as if he was trying to find out what was wrong with him.

"No matter, you looked like you needed one." The man's blue eyes were piercing and Rodrigo suddenly felt very naked and vulnerable even through all his layers of clothing. Uncomfortable, he shivered, and the man's eyebrows shot up until they were hidden by the scruffy hair that fell into his forehead. "You cold laddy? I can get ya a blanket if you'd like."

Rodrigo shook his head quickly, looking down at his clasped fingers that curled around the piping hot cup protectively, trying to seek out warmth for themselves. He brought it slowly to his face and sniffed tentatively at the smoke that curdled from it, not recognizing the sweet and alluring scent that filled his nose and enticed the rest of his body, convincing it to bring the hot beverage to his lips and sip it slowly and revel in the warmth that filled him to the tips of his toes from that small sip. He slowly felt his body unthaw, and his feelings; though still painful, suddenly seemed a lot more manageable.

"Tea worked its magic yet? It's the best damn tea I've ever had, wouldn't you agree?" Rodrigo looked up to see the old man leaning back on his armchair with his pipe in his hand, looking quite comfortable as he stared at Rodrigo from his perch. "Now laddy, what's wrong? I don't usually share my tea wit' strangers ya know?"

He opened his mouth slowly, not sure where he should begin. Should he tell him about JayJay and how he had passed away one night? How it had been a mystery why he'd died? Should he just tell him about having forfeited the tournament and exposing himself for ridicule for the rest of his life? How his heartbroken screams had begged for anyone's help as he'd curled around the body of his dearest Pokémon? The man seemed to sense his indecision and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs.

"Tell me everything; I'm a pretty good listener."

Rodrigo found the words pouring out of his mouth quickly, having started and not being able to stop; he told the man everything he had to tell about himself. He told him about that time he'd skinned his knee and felt stupid for crying because his brother had laughed at him; he told him about all the times he helped his mom out in the kitchen behind his dad's back because his dad thought it was unacceptable for a man to know how to cook; he told him about JayJay and then told him about Cassie and finally told him about his fear that it was all his fault and he was the reason his Pokémons died and how he was scared for all the rest of his Pokémon now.

When he finished, short of breath and his face glistening with tears, he felt a lot calmer than he had at the beginning of the night. He hadn't known that talking things out could help so much. He turned to look at the old man, who was staring at him intently with a pensive look on his face. After a few minutes of being stared at by the man, Rodrigo started to feel uncomfortable. He fidgeted in his seat, playing with a loose string from the sleeve of his coat, turning the empty cup over and over in his hands, and blushing every time he looked up to see the old man still looking at him. He was about to open his mouth to ask if he could go to the bathroom when the old man cleared his throat.

"Well laddy, sounds like you're in a big mess o' trouble doesn't it? What with your Pokémon dying on you." Rodrigo didn't know what to answer to the old man, whose face was now hiding behind a cloud of smoke coming from his pipe. "I don't think it's your fault, I've never heard of a person that kills Pokémon but I don't know what the problem is, then. But I know about someone who might." The old man scratched his beard. "Out back, in these mountains, lives a legend. He's a man who grew up in the wilderness, with Pokémon as his parents, siblings, cousins, family. He knows everything there is to know about Pokémon... Nobody's seen him in years, but maybe if you look for him you'll get your answers."

The old man stood and stretched, wincing as his back cracked audibly. Rodrigo stared at him, confused and immobile, and the old man turned back to him. He prised the cup from between Rodrigo's fingers and then grabbed Rodrigo's wrist once more and pulled him up so he was standing. He pushed and pulled Rodrigo around until they were standing in front of a door, which the man opened to show a small room with only a bed and a lamp in it.

"This used to be my daughter's room. You can sleep in it for the night and tomorrow you can go out to search for the Pokéman."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon Universe or anything like that (Not even Rodrigo ;) )**

**AN: This was written for a friend as a birthday present and I know NOTHING about the Pokémon world, so I apologize in advance for anything that might seem off during the fic.**

**Chapter Five.**

The next morning, Rodrigo woke up in a dizzy daze. His dreams had been a confusing jumble full of a wild man and Cassie telling him something he didn't understand. He blamed the old man's tea. It took him over an hour to work up the courage to say goodbye to the old man, and thank him for all his help; and with a backpack the man had lent him, he walked out into the mountains the man had told him about to look for "The Pokéman".

The sun was hot and strong, and it burned the back of his neck until he was sure it was going to be sore for the next few days. He was sweaty, tired, uncomfortable, as he trekked up the mountain, only the sheer determination of finding a cure for Cassie pushing him forward. He walked for hours, not stopping to rest even for a minute. The mountain wasn't very tall, so he reached the top of it in just a couple of hours, and as soon as he did, he sat down to rest. He opened the backpack, curious as to what the old man might have stuffed in there; he had instructed Rodrigo not to open it until he reached the top and the only thing that had kept him following the rules was the fact that if he didn't Cassie might die.

He pulled out an old book that seemed to emit a light, it looked heavy but seemed weightless in his hands and Rodrigo remembered a story his mom had told him about books filled with old magic; now lost to civilization because they hadn't been able to appreciate what they brought to them. There, on top of the mountain, he opened the book and started to read it. The words seemed to fly right into his mind, their magic beginning to wrap around his mind until he felt so powerful he felt as if he could jump off the mountain and fly home.

What changed him the most though, was the last chapter of the magic book. It seemed to be a handwritten letter, and he was shocked to find it was written to him.

_Dear Rodrigo:_

_I know you're probably very confused right now; to tell the truth, I was very confused when this happened to me . This book is magical, only passed down from magician to magician when one feels it's time to move on and die. When you go back to look for me, I won't be there anymore, so please just read the letter._

_When I saw you in the rain last night, getting soaked and cold, I knew you were the one sent to let me move on . There was something about you that called to me (and probably to your small Riolu too) and told me you were the one . You probably don't want this magic, I didn't want it at first either… But… I have hope for you . You seem to want to do good in the world, and that's what this magic is for._

_I never did what I was supposed to do, and in the last moments of my life, I regret this. Please, don't give up on yourself, I know you'll be a great Pokémon whisperer._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon Universe or anything like that (Not even Rodrigo ;) )**

**AN: This was written for a friend as a birthday present and I know NOTHING about the Pokémon world, so I apologize in advance for anything that might seem off during the fic.**

**Chapter Six.**

Now a twenty-three year old, Rodrigo bounced along the hallways of his clinic happily, watching every Pokémon he'd taken in playing in their rooms. Ever since that day in the mountains, he'd saved more Pokémons than he could count. Apparently, he wasn't the only person whose Pokémons died mysteriously. He'd managed to stop the epidemic and was now the best Pokémon healer there had ever existed in the history of the world. He smiled when a small Rattata ran between his feet, obviously playing with the small girl that ran after it squealing. He reached his office and opened the door slowly, knowing that Cassie was asleep in his office and he'd get a very serious telling off with her eyes if he woke her up.

She was sitting in her small bed, waiting for him to come in with an expectant look painted on her face. He still felt his heart swell with gratitude for the man that had helped him become what he was when he saw her so alive and healthy. He crouched down and opened up his arms for her, and she ran to him and wrapped her small arms around his neck. He went and sat down on his chair, still cuddling lovingly the Lucario that clung to him.

"I love you Cassie."

She made a small noise that he knew meant to say 'I love you too' and his smile grew. She then proceeded to stop hugging him and sit on his lap, waiting for him to start working with her there, as they always had. He chuckled and patted her head before he reached for a small, blue envelope that was waiting for him on his desk; reading it quickly before standing up.

"Come on Cassie, someone needs me. And you're coming."

He grabbed his coat and rushed out of the room, the envelope falling to the floor; the words "_The Pokémon Whispere_r" written across it.

**AN: So that's done... I hope that anyone who read it enjoyed it even though my ignorance of this world is infinite :)**


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